Wiradjuri woman and Super Netball umpire Jordan Kiss has earned the sport's highest officiating qualification 12 months out from a World Cup.

Kiss, who made her Super Netball umpiring debut in 2021, has become the second First Nations umpire to receive the qualification, the International Umpire Award, from World Netball.

The first, Gunggari woman Stacey Campton, later became Netball Australia's high performance umpire coach.

World Netball announced Kiss' latest achievement in late May.

"My test coincided or just happened right before the two rounds of First Nations in Super Netball. (It was) really perfect timing in that context to be able to reflect on it," Kiss told National Indigenous Times.

"Stacey and I have messaged each other, and I'm just super grateful for her to provide me with that guidance and leadership in that space as well."

The recognition came as a bit of surprise for Kiss, having being told her performance would be assessed a couple of days before umpiring a Super Netball game.

Kiss received top national accreditation with an All Australia Umpire Award in 2023, a year after joining NA's high performance group.

She was appointed to Asian Youth Championships 2023 and 2025, as well as last year's Nations Cup contested by England, South Africa, Uganda and Malawi.

"I've been reflecting. I't's been almost five years since I made my debut, and it's still just as exciting now," she said.

"The games are thrilling, and the feeling you have after a game is like unbeatable. I love it."

In her former years, the transition into umpiring was something Kiss fell into on the courts of Gosford's local netball association on the Central Coast of New South Wales.

At around age 12, having played since she was six or seven, the grassroots expectations to help out with the whistle saw Kiss give umpiring a go.

"I must have been all right at it, because people started elevating me to representative carnivals within association level netball, New South Wales identified me at a young age and I kind of went through that state pathway, which leads into the Netball Australia national pathway," she said.

"It's all been quite a blur, the whole journey."

A decision to choose between playing and umpiring was never forced, Kiss said, but with the progression through the ranks on the sideline, there's less time to do the other.

There's strong advantages which come with being a long-time player, Kiss said.

Recent seasons have seen the introduction of a national representative Indigenous team, the Black Swans, enter the international arena, the state and territory First Nations tournament and associated pathways in all aspects of the game.

The First Nations coaching course has been another aspect, launched by Netball Australia in 2024.

NA First Nations general manager, Ali Tucker Munro, has regularly spoken about the pathways for First Nations representation in the game going beyond high performance players, and into coaching, administration and umpires.

"Like any sport, there's so many people involved playing different roles, they're just as important as the players. If we can build that exposure to have more First Nations people involved in those roles, I think only good outcomes would follow," Kiss said.

Sydney will host next year's Netball World Cup between August and September.

Kiss isn't able to officiate a match featuring Australia, and while she opts not to set specific goals, "more exposure on the world stage would be great".

For now, improving with each game remains her number one focus.